SAT Full English Diagnostic Test

Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation between a subject and a verb. When, as in this case, a subject (“Generations of mystery and horror writers”) is immediately followed by a verb (“have been influenced”), no punctuation is needed. Choice B is incorrect because no punctuation is needed between the subject and the verb. Choice C is incorrect because no punctuation is needed between the subject and the verb. Choice D is incorrect because no punctuation is needed between the subject and the verb.

Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation use between a main clause and a participial phrase. This choice correctly uses a comma to mark the boundary between the main clause (“Epicurus…‘soul’”) and the participial phrase (“positing…absence”) that provides additional information about how Epicurus defined pleasure. Choice B is incorrect because a colon can’t be used in this way to join a main clause and a participial phrase. Choice C is incorrect because a semicolon can’t be used in this way to join a main clause and a participial phrase. Choice D is incorrect because it results in a rhetorically unacceptable sentence fragment beginning with “positing.”

Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation use between a name and title and between a subject and a verb. No punctuation is needed between the proper noun “Heather Grab” and “entomologist,” the title that describes Grab. Additionally, no punctuation is needed between the sentence’s subject (“Entomologist Heather Grab”) and the main verb (“found”) that indicates what Grab did. Choice A is incorrect because no punctuation is needed between the subject and the verb. Choice B is incorrect because no punctuation is needed. Setting the entomologist’s name off with commas suggests that it could be removed without affecting the coherence of the sentence, which isn’t the case. Choice D is incorrect because no punctuation is needed between the subject and the verb.

Choice A is the best answer. The text lists complaints about the house made by the mother and father, but then it says that the children thought the house was a "Fairy Palace" and "Earthly Paradise." Choice B is incorrect. The text states the opposite of this. It describes how the mother and father dislike the house and says the children think the house seems like paradise. Choice C is incorrect. This isn’t what the text says. Only the children are said to admire the house; mother and father both complain about the house. Choice D is incorrect. The text states the opposite of this. It tells us the house was ugly and poorly built ("an architect’s nightmare") and suggests the children were tired of London.

Choice C is the best answer because it most accurately states the main idea of the text. The text begins by explaining that wild animals can be studied in their natural habitat or in a laboratory setting, with each setting offering unique advantages to researchers. The text then highlights an instance in which Western scrub-jays were studied in both settings but with conflicting results, indicating that one or both studies may have failed to account for the disadvantages of its research setting. Thus, the main idea of the text is that while wild animals can be effectively studied in natural or lab settings, there are drawbacks to each that need to be considered to ensure accurate results. Choice A is incorrect because the text does not position one study setting (natural or lab) as superior to the other; rather, the text states that each one has advantages over the other. Choice B is incorrect. The text provides a hypothetical example of two studies in different environments with conflicting results, but this single example cannot be extrapolated to a general claim about the likelihood that results of studies in different environments will conflict. Additionally, the text does not assert anything about how researchers can or cannot resolve conflicting study results. Choice D is incorrect because the text does not state that discrepancies between natural-habitat and lab-based animal behavior studies are due to both of the designs being flawed. Rather, the text states that the conflict in results can be the consequence of one or both of the studies having failed to account for some factor. Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Central Ideas and Details Difficulty

Choice A is the best answer. The text says that the impact of photography on the portrait miniature might be "overstated," as some records show a decrease in the number of portrait miniatures before the invention of photography. From this, we can conclude that factors other than the rise of photography may be more directly responsible for the portrait miniature’s decline. Choice B is incorrect. The text never discusses the "artistic merit" of either art form. Choice C is incorrect. The text never suggests that the portrait miniature was popular for longer than historians thought—if anything, it suggests that the portrait miniature started losing its popularity earlier than historians thought. Choice D is incorrect. The text never suggests that portrait painters shifted to become photographers.

Choice B is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would support Stöger and her team’s claim that giraffes use humming to communicate when they cannot signal to one another visually. The text indicates that scientists have long thought that giraffes produce little sound and exclusively rely on visual signals to communicate with one another. The text goes on to say, however, that Stöger and her team have recorded giraffes in three European zoos making a low- pitched humming sound, which the team claims the giraffes use to communicate when they cannot see each other. If the giraffes produced these sounds when visual communication was impossible and never produced them otherwise, that would support Stöger and her team’s claim about the circumstance in which giraffes make the sound. Choice A is incorrect because finding that giraffes have excellent vision and can see in color would have no bearing on Stöger and her team’s claim that giraffes produce a low-pitched humming noise to communicate when they cannot communicate visually. As presented in the text, Stöger and her team’s claim is restricted to circumstances in which giraffes cannot signal one another visually; if the giraffes are unable to signal visually, their sense of vision is irrelevant to their communication. Choice C is incorrect because finding that wild giraffes have never been recorded making humming noises would not support Stöger and her team’s claim about the function of the humming noise that the researchers recorded from the giraffes in European zoos. The text provides no information about whether researchers have even attempted to record low-pitched humming in wild giraffes, so nothing can be concluded about the implications of the lack of such recordings. Choice D is incorrect because finding that other animals in European zoos had been observed humming would not support Stöger and her team’s claim, since it would not indicate anything about why giraffes produce humming sounds. Different species could produce similar sounds for different purposes, so scientists could not conclude anything about the function of giraffe humming from a finding that some other animals in zoos also hum.

Choice C is the best answer because it presents a finding that, if true, would support the researchers’ claim that archaeologists are unlikely to be replaced by certain computer models. The text explains that although archaeologists hold that categorizing pottery fragments relies on both objective criteria and instinct developed through direct experience, researchers have found that a computer model can categorize the fragments with the same degree of accuracy as the humans can—a finding that has caused some archaeologists to worry that their own work won’t be needed any longer. If survey results indicate that categorizing pottery fragments limits the amount of time archaeologists can dedicate to other important tasks that only human experts can do, that would mean that computer models aren’t able to do all of the important things archaeologists do, thus supporting the researchers’ claim that computer models are unlikely to replace human archaeologists. Choice A is incorrect because if it were true that the computer model could categorize the pottery fragments much more quickly than the archaeologists could, that would weaken the researchers’ claim that archaeologists are unlikely to be replaced by certain computer models, since it would demonstrate that the models could conduct the archaeologists’ work not only with equal accuracy but also at a faster pace. Choice B is incorrect because the inability of both the computer model and the archaeologists to accurately categorize all of the pottery fragments presented wouldn’t support the researchers’ claim that archaeologists are unlikely to be replaced by certain computer models. The text indicates that some Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Information and Ideas Skill Command of Evidence Difficulty archaeologists are worried because the computer model’s accuracy is equal to their own, and that could be the case whether both were perfectly accurate or were unable to achieve complete accuracy. Choice D is incorrect because survey results showing that few archaeologists received special training in properly categorizing pottery fragments wouldn’t support the researchers’ claim that archaeologists are unlikely to be replaced by certain computer models. The amount of special training in categorizing pottery fragments that archaeologists have received has no direct bearing on whether computer models’ success at categorizing fragments will lead to the models replacing the archaeologists.

Choice A is the best answer. Text 1 is extremely positive about Strassburg’s team’s findings, calling the potential results "a clear win in the fight against the biodiversity and climate crises." Text 2 is not as positive, arguing that while the findings point to "potential benefits," we also need to consider the "potential effects on global food supplies." Choice B is incorrect. This isn’t a difference between the two views. Text 1 does present the 15% number as enough to achieve meaningful results, but that’s not what Text 2 takes issue with: rather, Text 2 argues that we need to consider the effect that rewilding this much farmland would have on food supplies. Choice C is incorrect. This isn’t a difference between the two views. Neither text mentions the timeline for achieving the results described by Strassburg’s team. Choice D is incorrect. This isn’t a difference between the two views. Text 1 focuses on rewilding’s effects on both carbon emissions and Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Craft and Structure Skill Cross-Text Connections Difficulty biodiversity. Text 2 doesn’t focus on rewilding’s effect on carbon emissions at all. Instead, it focuses on a third factor: global food supplies.

Choice A is the best answer. Text 2 describes how the Svalbard polar bears have adapted to the loss of sea ice by diversifying their diet and feeding on reindeer and seabird eggs, resulting in a “stable and well nourished” population despite environmental challenges. This counters the underlined claim that polar bears facing a loss of sea ice are at “great risk of extinction” by the end of the century. Choice B is incorrect. Text 2 does not challenge the fact that sea ice is rapidly declining in the Arctic due to warming ocean temperatures. In fact, it states that the Svalbard polar bears have faced “rapidly declining sea ice in recent years.” Choice C is incorrect. The claim in Text 1 is specific to polar bear populations affected by the loss of seal hunting habitats, so unaffected populations are irrelevant to the claim. Also, Text 2 doesn’t mention any polar bear populations that haven’t yet been affected by loss of seal hunting habitats. It focuses on a population that has been affected by sea-ice loss but has managed to survive and thrive nevertheless. Choice D is incorrect. Text 2 doesn’t imply that polar bears rely on a single seal-hunting strategy. In fact, the researcher in Text 2 would say that Text 1 fails to account for polar bears’ ability to develop other hunting strategies and food sources. Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Craft and Structure Skill Cross-Text Connections Difficulty

Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verb forms within a sentence. The nonfinite to- infinitive verb “to study” is correctly used to form a subordinate clause that indicates what Dr. Caballero-Gill uses chemistry and fossil evidence for (to study oceans as they were in the past). Choice A is incorrect because it results in an ungrammatical sentence. The finite verb “has studied” can’t be used in this way to form a subordinate clause that indicates what Dr. Caballero-Gill uses the evidence for. Choice C is incorrect because it results in an ungrammatical sentence. The finite verb “studied” can’t be used in this way to form a subordinate clause that indicates what Dr. Caballero-Gill uses the evidence for. Choice D is incorrect because it results in an ungrammatical sentence. The finite verb “studies” can’t be used in this way to form a subordinate clause that indicates what Dr. Caballero- Gill uses the evidence for.

Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-modifier placement. This choice ensures that the introductory phrase “upon recovering two years later” appears immediately before the noun it modifies (“Henry”), clearly establishing that Henry recovered two years later. Choice B is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “the reign of Henry” immediately after the introductory phrase illogically suggests that the reign of Henry recovered two years later. Choice C is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the noun phrase “Henry’s reign” immediately after the introductory phrase illogically suggests that Henry’s reign recovered two years later. Choice D is incorrect because it results in a dangling modifier. The placement of the function word “it” immediately after the introductory phrase illogically suggests that “it” recovered two years later.

Choice D is the best answer. The subject of the verb is “Lincoln,” and the first sentence tells us that we’re talking about something that Abraham Lincoln did in 1860. So the simple past tense “leveraged” fits the logic of the text. Choice A is incorrect. This choice creates a tense issue. “Has leveraged” is the present perfect tense, which is used for an action that began in the past and continues into the present. Lincoln started leveraging his rivals’ talents in 1860—it’s definitely not still happening today. So the present perfect tense isn’t appropriate. Choice B is incorrect. This choice creates a tense issue. “Is leveraging” is the present tense, but Lincoln leveraged his rivals’ talents in 1860, so the present tense isn’t appropriate. Choice C is incorrect. This choice creates a tense issue. “Will leverage” is the future tense, but Lincoln leveraged his rivals’ talents in 1860, so the future tense isn’t appropriate.

Choice A is the best answer. The passage tells us that “tanks with duckweed (a floating plant) and algae released higher levels of methane than tanks with watermilfoil (an underwater plant) did.” This suggests that the presence of some kinds of underwater plants like watermilfoil may help prevent methane from escaping shallow lakes and ponds. Choice B is incorrect. The passage doesn’t mention deeper bodies of water at all, so there’s no basis for this inference. Choice C is incorrect. The passage doesn’t compare the likelihood of shallow lakes and ponds containing algae, watermilfoil, or duckweed. Choice D is incorrect. The study didn’t include any tanks with a mix of plants, so there’s no basis for this inference.

Choice B is the best answer. Since resin casting “inevitably requires destroying the burrow,” it would be impossible to make multiple castings of the same burrow over time. Choice A is incorrect. The passage doesn’t discuss size requirements for completing resin casting, so there’s no basis for this inference. Choice C is incorrect. The passage never mentions how long the casting process takes nor how long A. bellulus takes to construct a borrow, so there’s no basis for this inference. Choice D is incorrect. The passage never states that recovering the model distorts the resin’s shape, only that it destroys the burrow. Therefore, there’s no basis for this inference.

Choice C is the best answer. Because “song preference plays a role in songbird mate selection,” and because F. hypoleuca nestlings display a preference for local dialects, we can infer that they will be more likely to choose mates from local populations. Choice A is incorrect. We don’t have any information suggesting that this preference disappears, so there’s no basis for this inference. Choice B is incorrect. Although the passage discusses the number of begging calls made in response to various F. hypoleuca dialects, no mention is made about the amount of food received based on dialect preference. Therefore, there’s no basis for this inference. Choice D is incorrect. There’s no mention in the passage of methods of other types of local songbirds, so there’s no basis for this inference.

Choice D is the best answer. This choice effectively specifies who may have first populated the Azores, according to the 2015 study: the Vikings. Choice A is incorrect. This choice doesn’t effectively specify who may have first populated the Azores, according to the 2015 study. It only mentions the historical belief that the Portuguese were first. The 2015 study drew a different conclusion. Choice B is incorrect. This choice casts doubt on the Portuguese claim but doesn’t name the group of people who may have arrived before the Portuguese. Choice C is incorrect. This choice mentions the evidence that the researchers found but not the conclusion they drew from it. It doesn’t name the possible group of people who may have arrived before the Portuguese.

Choice C is the best answer. The sentence effectively presents Tan’s research to an audience unfamiliar with Angkor Wat, explaining the results of the research and identifying Angkor Wat as a temple in Cambodia. Choice A is incorrect. While the sentence presents Tan’s research, it fails to explain what Angkor Wat is for an audience unfamiliar with the temple. Choice B is incorrect. The sentence emphasizes the role that decorrelation stretch analysis played in Tan’s research; it doesn’t present the research, which would require specifying where it was conducted. Choice D is incorrect. While the sentence explains what Angkor Wat is, it fails to present Tan’s research.

Choice A is the best answer. This choice presents the study in a way that assumes the audience is already familiar with eDNA. Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t present the study. It only states a general fact about eDNA analysis. Choice C is incorrect. This choice isn’t suited for an audience already familiar with eDNA. A familiar audience wouldn’t need to have the term defined or explained. Choice D is incorrect. This choice isn’t suited for an audience already familiar with eDNA. A familiar audience wouldn’t need to have the term defined or explained. It also doesn’t present the study.

Choice A is the best answer. The text provides an overview of Florence Price’s importance by describing her success at the 1932 Wanamaker Foundation Awards, her blending of Black spirituals and classical European Romantic musical traditions, and the recent performances and recordings of her concertos and symphonies by major orchestras. Choice B is incorrect. The text does mention that Price’s compositions have been performed and recorded by major orchestras, but it doesn’t argue that more orchestras should do so. Choice C is incorrect. The text does mention the blending of Black spirituals and classical European Romantic musical traditions, but only briefly, as part of a broader overview of Price’s career. Choice D is incorrect. The text mentions Price’s blending of Black spirituals with classical European Romantic musical traditions, but it doesn’t directly compare Price’s scores with those of classical European composers.

Choice A is the best answer because it most accurately describes the function of the underlined question in the text as a whole. The text begins with the underlined question, “How lifelike are they?” The text then explains that many computer animators pose this question about the environments and lighting that they create for animated films, striving for realistic animation of those components even if the characters themselves aren’t portrayed in realistic terms. The focus of the text then shifts to describe how some animators strive to create environments and lighting that reflect the film’s unique stories rather than making them appear realistic. Therefore, the function of the underlined question is to reflect a primary goal that many computer animators have for certain components of the animations they produce. Choice B is incorrect because, as the text makes clear, the underlined question is one posed by computer animators who wish to create realistic backgrounds and lighting effects, not by those who, instead, wish to create effects that reflect films’ unique stories and aren’t necessarily realistic; this latter group of animators is discussed later in the text. Choice C is incorrect. As the text explains, many computer animators strive for realistic environments and lighting, while others do not; this difference of approach relates to whether these components should be realistic, not to how realism can be achieved using current technology, and the text never suggests that animators are uncertain how to achieve it. Choice D is incorrect because the underlined question pertains to the perspective of computer animators, not the audience, and the text never considers audience’s reactions to characters in animated films.

Choice A is the best answer. The text starts by introducing a common view among archaeologists about the need for an elite class to direct large-scale engineering projects. Then, it discusses the discovery of a large canal most likely built by a society without an elite class, which challenges the first view. Choice B is incorrect. Although the text discusses carbon dating as an archaeological method, it doesn’t compare it to any other alternative methods. Choice C is incorrect. The study doesn’t resolve any contradictions—rather, it introduces a contradiction to the one view presented at the beginning of the text. Choice D is incorrect. The text never identifies any gaps in scientific research.

Choice D is the best answer. The previous sentence tells us that potters think about the look and use of a piece when selecting clay. This sentence provides a specific example of a type of clay selected for its appearance, so the transition "for example" fits perfectly. Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that indicates a restatement of the same idea. But this sentence does more than just restate the previous idea. Instead, it provides a more specific example of the idea presented in the first sentence. Choice B is incorrect. This choice uses a disagreement transition. But this sentence actually agrees with the previous sentence. Both sentences suggest that desired look plays a role in the selection of clay types for pottery pieces. Choice C is incorrect. This choice uses a concluding transition. But this sentence doesn’t sum up the previous sentence. Instead, it gives a specific example of the idea presented in the previous sentence.

Choice D is the best answer. “That is” logically signals that this sentence clarifies the terms of the scientific debate introduced in the previous sentence by explaining the difference between dispersalists and vicariancists. Choice A is incorrect because “furthermore” illogically signals that the information in this sentence is merely additional to (and separate from) the information in the previous sentence about the scientific debate. Instead, the information about dispersalists and vicariancists clarifies the terms of that debate. Choice B is incorrect because “by contrast” illogically signals that the information in this sentence contrasts with the information in the previous sentence about the scientific debate. Instead, the information about dispersalists and vicariancists clarifies the terms of that debate. Choice C is incorrect because “similarly” illogically signals that the information in this sentence is merely similar to the information in the previous sentence about the scientific debate. Instead, the information about dispersalists and vicariancists clarifies the terms of that debate.

Choice B is the best answer. The word “however” logically signals that the information in this sentence about the planet KELT-9b—that it orbits a B-type star—contrasts with the previous information about planets discovered outside our solar system. Most of these planets orbit G-type stars, not B-type stars. Choice A is incorrect because “likewise” illogically signals that the information about the planet KELT-9b is similar to the previous information about most planets outside our solar system. Instead, it contrasts with that information. Choice C is incorrect because “therefore” illogically signals that the information about the planet KELT-9b is a result of the previous information about most planets outside our solar system. Instead, it contrasts with that information. Choice D is incorrect because “for example” illogically signals that the information about the planet KELT-9b is an example of the previous information about most planets outside our solar system. Instead, it contrasts with that information.

Choice B is the best answer because as used in the text, “disturbed” most nearly means alarmed. The text portrays the narrator traveling in a carriage as wolves howl in the surrounding darkness. The text contrasts the reaction of both the narrator and the horses pulling the carriage with that of the driver of the carriage: the narrator and horses are “dreadfully afraid,” but the driver is “not in the least disturbed.” In other words, the driver is not alarmed by the wolves nearby. Choice A is incorrect. Although in some contexts, “disturbed” can mean disorganized, the text doesn’t portray a character acting in a disorganized manner; instead, the driver continues to drive the carriage, even though the horses pulling it are alarmed. Choice C is incorrect. Although in some contexts, “disturbed” can mean offended, the text doesn’t portray one character feeling offended, or upset, by another’s actions; instead, it contrasts the fear felt by the narrator with another character’s lack of fear. Choice D is incorrect. Although in some contexts, “disturbed” can mean interrupted, the text doesn’t portray an action being interrupted; indeed, the travel depicted in the scene continues despite the threat of the wolves outside the carriage.

Choice C is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the study of female participation in hunting among prehistoric peoples. In this context, “negligible” means not significant enough to be worth considering. The text says that the study challenged the accepted view of female participation in hunting among prehistoric peoples. The text goes on to say that the researchers found that “in fact, as many as half” the hunters in the groups studied were female. The phrase “in fact” establishes a contrast indicating that the finding that as many as half the hunters were female differs from the accepted view. This context suggests, then, that the accepted view is that female participation in hunting was negligible. Choice A is incorrect because the text indicates that the study challenged the accepted view by showing that as many as half of hunters among prehistoric peoples were female, which suggests that the accepted view is that female participation was low, not that female participation was “inevitable,” or unavoidable. Nothing in the text suggests that the accepted view is that prehistoric peoples could not avoid female participation in hunting. Choice B is incorrect because nothing in the text suggests that the accepted view of female participation in hunting among prehistoric peoples is that such participation was “satisfactory,” or sufficient to meet a requirement or demand. There is no information in the text about any demands or requirements regarding female participation in hunting, let alone any information about how much female participation in hunting would be enough to satisfy those demands or requirements. Instead, the text indicates that the study challenged the accepted view by showing that as many as half the hunters in the groups studied were female, suggesting that the accepted view is that female participation in hunting was low. Choice D is incorrect because the text indicates that the study challenged the accepted view by showing that as many as half of hunters among the prehistoric peoples studied were female, which suggests that the accepted view is that female participation was low, not that female participation was “commonplace,” or ordinary or unremarkable. Although the study under discussion suggests that female participation may have been commonplace, that study is presented as challenging the accepted view, not as reinforcing the accepted view. Assessment SAT Test Reading and Writing Domain Craft and Structure Skill Words in Context Difficulty

Choice B is the best answer. Based on the text, we’re looking for a word that means something similar to "mak[ing] use of insights and techniques from all those fields." "Transcending" means "going beyond," so "transcending traditional boundaries" would mean crossing into all those various fields of research, which is exactly the meaning we want. Choice A is incorrect. This isn’t a logical word choice. Based on the text, we’re looking for a word that means something similar to "mak[ing] use of insights and techniques from all those fields." To "epitomize" means to "be a perfect example of," so "epitomizing traditional boundaries" would mean the opposite of what we want: keeping the fields of research separate. Choice C is incorrect. This isn’t a logical word choice. Based on the text, we’re looking for a word that means something similar to "mak[ing] use of insights and techniques from all those fields." "Anticipating" means "expecting" or "waiting for," and would result in a confusing sentence with an unclear meaning. Choice D is incorrect. This isn’t a logical word choice. Based on the text, we’re looking for a word that means something similar to "mak[ing] use of insights and techniques from all those fields." "Reinforcing traditional boundaries" would mean the opposite: keeping the fields of research separate.